That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

"Wow ah ah-"

Xie Yunqi cupped his hands into a megaphone shape and shouted loudly at the snow-capped mountain.

She grew up in the capital, and no matter how high she climbed, all she could see were layers upon layers of palace walls.

Seeing this scenery now, I feel like even breathing is much easier, and all my worries seem to drift away with the shouts.

Her shout startled Lu Zhao, who couldn't help but turn his horse around.

“Young Miss, if the Commander were here, he would surely shake his head and sigh, saying that you still have the mind of a little girl.”

"Just say it then!"

Xie Yunqi not only ignored his lecturing, but also turned his shouting at him.

Lu Zhao had no choice but to cover his ears and spur his horse to gallop away.

Fang Zhiyi lagged a few steps behind the two, leisurely gazing at the distant scenery of cattle and sheep grazing amidst the swaying grass.

Jiang Jingming watched her back and thought that she was probably like this before, riding a horse alone to many places.

It makes sense; one wouldn't have such a lonely and quiet look in their eyes unless they've seen a lot of scenery.

......

sunset.

Lu Zhao turned his horse around and found Jiang Jingming.

"There's a tea stall not far ahead. Let's stop there, have something to eat, and continue our journey tomorrow morning."

"it is good."

Jiang Jingming responded and turned to look at A Qing, who nodded almost inaudibly.

"It's cold and windy at night, and it's easy to get lost. I heard that there are huge wolves in the snow-capped mountains around here that are taller than a person when they stand up, but I don't know if it's true or not."

Lu Zhao pointed to the snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance, which were shimmering with golden light from the sunset, and said in a joking tone.

"some."

Jiang Jingming nodded.

"Hey! You talk like you've actually seen it..."

Lu Zhao's smile vanished halfway through his sentence as he noticed the usually nonchalant boy beside him suddenly become serious.

His gaze was also fixed on the snow-capped mountain, yet it seemed as if he were looking at something very far away.

Lu Zhao scratched his head, unsure of what was wrong, and changed the subject.

"After walking a little further and turning a corner, we won't be able to see the grasslands and snow-capped mountains anymore. For some reason, I feel a little melancholy. Jingming, you grew up in Shulan City, so you must be even more reluctant to leave, right?"

"I will come back."

Jiang Jingming spoke slowly, as if he were saying goodbye to someone, and the setting sun gilded his eyebrows and eyes with a layer of gold.

Lu Zhao suddenly realized that this guy had a very handsome face.

If one were to simply ride through the capital city in a casual manner, it would likely attract the attention of numerous beautiful women in brothels.

Well, before I successfully find a wife, I shouldn't invite trouble into my home.

Lu Zhao thought angrily.

"By the way, Brother Lu."

Jiang Jingming snapped out of his daze and turned to look at him.

Because Lu Zhao always called him "Young Master Jing," which sounded very awkward, Jiang Jingming suggested that they address each other as brothers from now on.

Lu Zhao is already nineteen years old this year, so we call him Brother Lu.

Hearing him suddenly call his name, Lu Zhao felt a little guilty and gave a "Huh?" before coughing to cover it up.

"Cough! What's wrong?"

"Brother Lu, you hold a position in the Divine Capital Guard. Have you ever heard of a person called the Ghost Doctor?"

Jiang Jingming spoke as if nothing had happened.

"I've heard of the Ghost Doctor, of course."

Lu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"This person is known for his eccentric personality and strange behavior. Although he is highly skilled in medicine, he is not a righteous person."

"That's why he's called the Ghost Doctor."

Jiang Jingming nodded.

"Even so, I've heard rumors that the Ghost Doctor can even bring the dead back to life. He's not like a doctor at all, but more like a sorcerer! Perhaps ghosts are a better representation of him than doctors."

Lu Zhao frowned, recalling the files he had casually flipped through when he was in the Divine Capital Guard.

"There are many different opinions about his appearance. Some say he was an ugly thing that looked like a demon, others say he was a beautiful woman, and still others say he was an ordinary-looking, thin old man with nothing special about him... I don't know who is telling the truth."

Hearing this, Jiang Jingming thought for a moment and asked again.

"If that's the case, why did Brother Lu say he doesn't seem like a righteous person?"

"A righteous person should be open and honest, why hide and not show their true face?"

Lu Zhao looked righteous, the long sword on his back tapping dully against the saddle.

"Perhaps he just wants to be free and unrestrained?"

Jiang Jingming smiled and squinted slightly in the sunset.

His words left Lu Zhao speechless for a moment before he finally replied:

"Those who practice martial arts should punish evil and promote good, and those who study medicine should practice medicine and help the world. I always feel that this is how the world should be."

Lu Zhao thought he sounded like a naive and clueless young man, but that was really what he thought.

After much thought, he finally found supporting evidence.

Lu Zhao slapped the saddle and pointed at Fang Zhiyi ahead:

"Look at that Miss Fang! She has the true heart of a healer; she saved my life but didn't ask for anything in return!"

"..."

Jiang Jingming gazed at the leisurely figure in the white dress and thought to himself, "Although it seems that this Miss Fang is very likely the same Ghost Doctor you despise the most."

Of course, it's impossible to say these words out loud.

Chapter 41 Missing Person Notice

Before sunset, we finally arrived at the tea stall that Lu Zhao had mentioned.

It was a more deserted and shabby stall than I had imagined; it was just a few bamboo poles supporting a tarpaulin and a mud stove.

Hot tea was boiling on the left side of the earthen stove, while cold tea was brewing in a pot on the right. The price was reasonable; a large bowl could be had for just two copper coins.

"Boss, what kind of tea is this?"

Xie Yunqi leaned close to the pot and sniffed it like a puppy.

"Kuding tea."

The boss squatted by the stove adding firewood, without even looking up.

"After paying the coins, you can take your own bowl to serve yourself."

Lu Zhao took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket, tossed them into the sack on the other side, and beckoned the others to come over for tea.

Jiang Jingming blew on the tea leaves floating in the bowl, then tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

It does have the cheapest taste, slightly bitter, but very thirst-quenching.

After riding horses all day, everyone was looking forward to having a bowl of herbal tea, so even the pampered Miss Xie didn't show any sign of dislike.

"Boss, why aren't you selling baked flatbreads today?"

Lu Zhao looked around while holding his teacup, but didn't see the steamer he had seen before.

Although the steamed buns, which were bigger than a face, didn't taste good, they were at least warm, which was much more comfortable than eating dry rations.

"I'm not selling it anymore."

The boss remained squatting by the stove, his tone cold and hard.

Lu Zhao chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He didn't understand why the boss was acting this way today; he had been very friendly when the boss came a few days ago.

From Jiang Jingming's perspective, you can see the boss's profile.

He was a middle-aged man with a face full of wrinkles, his lips chapped from the firelight, but he seemed oblivious, staring intently at the flickering flames.

After finishing the tea in her bowl, Aqing walked outside the tarpaulin of the tea stall and looked at the end of the long road.

She was observing the sky today to determine if there was a possibility of a sandstorm.

Xie Yunqi coughed and choked as she drank her tea. She really wasn't used to such coarse tea leaves, so drinking it was quite difficult for her.

Lu Zhao smacked his lips, took a few pieces of soft cloth from the horse's back, and handed one to Jiang Jingming.

"Tomorrow we'll reach the Gobi Desert, where the road will be even more difficult, with sharp rocks and sand everywhere. We need to wrap the horses' hooves beforehand, otherwise it will be a real problem if they get punctured."

"it is good."

Jiang Jingming took the cloth, tore it into several pieces, and squatted down to wrap each piece around the horse's hooves.

"Jingming, don't wrap my little red horse in green cloth! It looks awful!"

Xie Yunqi squatted down next to him at some point, grabbing his arms and shaking them back and forth.

"Yes Yes Yes."

Jiang Jingming had no choice but to untie the piece of cloth again and patiently let her pick out her favorite color from the pile of scraps.

Fang Zhiyi gently put down her teacup and walked to the stove.

There was a thin bamboo pole supporting a tarpaulin, with a yellowed piece of paper hanging from it, swaying precariously in the wind.

"..."

Her eyelashes drooped, and after thinking for a long time, she finally smiled and spoke.

"There's a missing person notice here."

"What?! What?!"

Xie Yunqi jumped up immediately.

She was always the type to meddle in other people's business, and she never expected that something would happen at such a quiet and dilapidated little tea stall.

Jiang Jingming raised his head and met Fang Zhiyi's ambiguous smile.

She raised her pretty eyebrows, as if inviting him to come and see for himself.

Jiang Jingming tied the last piece of cloth in his hand, stood up, and walked under the tarpaulin to meet her gaze.

Before he could even see what it was, Xie Yunqi in front of him burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!!!"

"Please, Miss Xie, what's so funny about missing person notices... Pfft!"

Lu Zhao walked over with a frown, unable to resist giving a lecture, but after seeing the portrait in the missing person notice, he couldn't help but laugh.

A strange image was drawn on the yellowed old paper with a brush.

Jiang Jingming hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should describe the notice as a "missing person notice".

Because it's unclear whether the drawing actually depicts a person.

The "face" was distorted, with misaligned features, an obese abdomen, and several disproportionately long and thin limbs, some of which looked like they had appeared out of nowhere.

The whole thing is quite comical. It's as if the artist hasn't learned how to use a pen, as the drawing is crooked and every stroke lands in an unexpected place.

It was like a child's prank.

As Jiang Jingming was thinking this, he saw a line of small characters below the portrait.